Warner Bros. Games Montreal has taken the mantle of the bat from Rocksteady Studios this time around for Batman: Arkham Origins. WB Montreal has full access to Rocksteady's custom modified Unreal engine to capture the look and feel of the Arkhamverse. As the title suggests, the game takes place years before both of the previous Arkham titles when a young, unrefined Batman encounters many supervillains for the first time. On our full cover image below, fans will recognize the assassin Deathstroke, who appears for the very first time in a core Arkham game.
Heading up the vision for Arkham Origins is creative director Eric Holmes, known for being the lead designer of open world action hits The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction and Prototype. A self-professed lover of comics, Holmes even wrote the miniseries Transformers: Megatron Origin for IDW.
Gamers won't have to wait long to experience Batman's lastest adventure. Batman: Arkham Origins releases October 25, 2013 on Wii U, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.
But that's not all. We also have a feature on the first handheld Arkham game, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate. Releasing on 3DS and Vita the same day as the home console version, Blackgate is a completely separate experience that takes place after the events of Arkham Origins. Armature Studio is developing the 2.5-D Metroid-style exploration action game. Industry followers will recognize Armature Studio as the company founded by several of the leads from the Metroid Prime trilogy.

wow, a new game already? who wants to bet it wont be as good as the first 2?

It's a tall order for sure but I am going to be positive. I love, more than just the games, getting to be able to PLAY a Batman story. I hope for great voice acting, a great score, awesome visuals and an experience thats more Batman and more fun than often we can expect of Live Action productions.

Dunno how I feel about this. I mean the WB Games Montreal crew seems to have reverence for the franchise and all, but I can't help but feel suspicious of this potentially being an inferior game that's being rushed out so they can keep cashing in on the franchise while it's hot.

Hopefully Dini and Rocksteady will return for a true sequel to Arkham City on the next gen consoles.

Don't get me wrong though, I want this to turn out to be a good game. Open world Gotham is what I've always wanted from the franchise, but making it Christmas Eve so everything's quiet in Gotham seems like a bit of a copout. We shall see.

I think it is beyond stupid for have Arkham in the title. Having it in the title of the first 2 games made sense from a story point of view. In this case, it makes no sense whatsoever why Arkham would be in the title other than because WB thinks the game somehow won't sell.

I really fear that this game is mainly being made just to capitalize off Batman's popularity in the video games. My theory is that Rocksteady is working on a big Batman game that is a sequel to AC for the next-gen but needs more time on it so WB decided to release something this year they can make money out of while Rocksteady continues working on the game they're working on. This isn't necessarily a bad thing and doesn't automatically mean the game will suck but it is a red flag for obvious reasons and things like Arkham in the title, Rocksteady & Paul Dini not being involved, and the game being announced so late all points to this theory possibly being true.

As for what we've seen of it, I do think the game looks good so far. I love the visuals and the whole concept for the story. I also think the idea of the story taking place on Christmas Eve is great, especially since I probably won't be able to play this game till Christmas Eve . I think Batman looks great but Deathstroke's mask bugs me. Something about his masks gives me the vibe that he was pulled straight out of a half-ass game made by a developer like Activision. The way that mask just sits on his face makes his face look oddly-shaped. It doesn't look like the shape of a head that a normal looking human in this universe would have.

I think it is beyond stupid for have Arkham in the title. Having it in the title of the first 2 games made sense from a story point of view. In this case, it makes no sense whatsoever why Arkham would be in the title other than because WB thinks the game somehow won't sell.

I really fear that this game is mainly being made just to capitalize off Batman's popularity in the video games. My theory is that Rocksteady is working on a big Batman game that is a sequel to AC for the next-gen but needs more time on it so WB decided to release something this year they can make money out of while Rocksteady continues working on the game they're working on. This isn't necessarily a bad thing and doesn't automatically mean the game will suck but it is a red flag for obvious reasons and things like Arkham in the title, Rocksteady & Paul Dini not being involved, and the game being announced so late all points to this theory possibly being true.

As for what we've seen of it, I do think the game looks good so far. I love the visuals and the whole concept for the story. I also think the idea of the story taking place on Christmas Eve is great, especially since I probably won't be able to play this game till Christmas Eve . I think Batman looks great but Deathstroke's mask bugs me. Something about his masks gives me the vibe that he was pulled straight out of a half-ass game made by a developer like Activision. The way that mask just sits on his face makes his face look oddly-shaped. It doesn't look like the shape of a head that a normal looking human in this universe would have.

Yeah, that's kind of how I feel. But I guess we'll have to see whether or not Arkham is ultimately relevant to the to the story.

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Originally Posted by OutRiddled

Now this I am excited for. Can't ****ing wait. I loved the first two games.

And yes, the Arkham games are way better than Nolan's overrated political thrillers masquerading as Batman.

And hey, the Arkham games wouldn't exist if it weren't for Nolan's overrated political thrillers. Guess you have something to thank the Vest for, eh?

The name of the franchise is basically the "Arkham games", imo, so why not? I'm hoping this makes a great "year one" for Arkham Batman. I'm loving that they're venturing even more into the realm of "being Batman"with the open world, detective missions, Crime-in-progress, etc. I hope that they aren't hasty like the side missions in Arkham City. This new developer still has something to prove, too, but I would like to see a new twist.

There's something called "brand equity." Batman has it, yes. But there have been Batman video games in the past. And they've been a mixed-bag. The "Arkham" games have been another animal entirely.

Yes, the "Batman" brand has that equity, but Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City were both massive hits and Batman: Arkham Origins will take place within the same universe as those games, so why not capitalize on that name cache?

Think of The Dark Knight Rises. Sure, Batman Begins did well at the box office. It road the name of "Batman" (and it's own fine merits) but then The Dark Knight came along and was this whole other thing. It made more than twice the money, Oscars, and acclaim. It exploded. It was a cultural phenomenon. So for the sequel, did the studio tie it more directly with Batman Begins or The Dark Knight? It's just smart business.

It doesn't matter if it doesn't feature Arkham Asylum or Arkham City in this game. It is part of the Batman: Arkham universe. And a game in that universe and identified as such will sell a whole lot more easily than a fresh start, or a game that people don't know is set in the universe that they have now come to love.

There's something called "brand equity." Batman has it, yes. But there have been Batman video games in the past. And they've been a mixed-bag. The "Arkham" games have been another animal entirely.

Yes, the "Batman" brand has that equity, but Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City were both massive hits and Batman: Arkham Origins will take place within the same universe as those games, so why not capitalize on that name cache?

Think of The Dark Knight Rises. Sure, Batman Begins did well at the box office. It road the name of "Batman" (and it's own fine merits) but then The Dark Knight came along and was this whole other thing. It made more than twice the money, Oscars, and acclaim. It exploded. It was a cultural phenomenon. So for the sequel, did the studio tie it more directly with Batman Begins or The Dark Knight? It's just smart business.

It doesn't matter if it doesn't feature Arkham Asylum or Arkham City in this game. It is part of the Batman: Arkham universe. And a game in that universe and identified as such will sell a whole lot more easily than a fresh start, or a game that people don't know is set in the universe that they have now come to love.

-R

I said it doesn't make sense from a story point of view; I completely understand why it is there from a business point of view.

However, I don't think TDKR would have made that much less money than what it did had it not had "The Dark Knight" in the title and I don't think this game would've made much less money than what it is going to make had it not had Arkham in the title. I can understand why WB would disagree but I think most people can recognize visually that this takes place in the same universe plus there are still other ways you can advertise it using the Arkham name like attaching a sticker to it that says "The anticipated prequel to the Arkham story!" or releasing all 3 games as a pack similar to how the AMC theatres released the whole TDK Trilogy in theatres or attaching a slogan to it such as "The Arkham saga continues!", etc.

Also, the name is not going to affect the quality of the game in any way but when there is a reason other than business for why the first 2 games have Arkham in the title that this game does not have, it gives off the vibe that the game is only being made to milk the franchise Rocksteady created because Rocksteady is busy with another project at the moment. I'm not saying that this is definitely the case and most of the stuff we saw and heard so far does look good but that is not a good vibe one would want to give when they first announce news about their game.

I will say, I was kind of hoping the next Arkham game would be a prequel/early Batman story all along so that part of the news is a plus for me. After reading a bit more, I'll reserve judgement. The bit about "Old Gotham" and "New Gotham" is a nice touch.

I'm sure WB Montreal are going to do their best to deliver a great game, and luckily for them a lot of the foundation has already been laid by Rocksteady, so I basically think it's just their job to not screw it up and deliver a good game to tide us over until Rocksteady comes out with a true sequel.

I will say, I was kind of hoping the next Arkham game would be a prequel/early Batman story all along so that part of the news is a plus for me. After reading a bit more, I'll reserve judgement. The bit about "Old Gotham" and "New Gotham" is a nice touch.

I'm sure WB Montreal are going to do their best to deliver a great game, and luckily for them a lot of the foundation has already been laid by Rocksteady, so I basically think it's just their job to not screw it up and deliver a good game to tide us over until Rocksteady comes out with a true sequel.

Whether in movies, television, comics or video games, when Batman needs a change of pace, creative teams tend to lean towards the iconic hero's formative years. That's precisely the case with Batman: Arkham Origins, just announced this morning for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC. Since the game's reveal, Game Informer's cover story has gone live, providing us with some critical new details in the next Batman adventure, due out October 25.

As previously noted, the Dark Knight will face eight assassins, including fan favorite Deathstroke, who have journeyed to Arkham City to kill him. We now know that Black Mask is responsible for putting a bounty on Batman's head, though exactly why will be a key mystery in the game's story. Also playing into the plot - Gotham City's acclimation to its rookie protector. Players will not only see a much more skeptical and potentially hostile Gotham City Police Department (aka the 'GCPD', which happens to feature a young Captain Jim Gordon), but younger and healthier versions of big bad guys like the Penguin - who apparently didn't always have the tail end of a glass bottle shoved in one eye.
Arkham Origins will feature similar gameplay to its predecessors, as new developer WB Montreal is very much intent on picking up where Rocksteady left off. That means perch-to-perch movement, gliding kicks and 'free-form combat' are all back. While the Montreal studio was free to develop its plot and new feature (like a 'Remote Claw', which allows you to target and pull two objects together), it leaned on Rocksteady for advice on technical and mechanical elements of the game.
Another new feature - quick travel via the airborne Batwing. Though not a controllable vehicle, Arkham Origins will finally eliminate one of the more tedious elements from Asylum and City, allowing Batman to move from point to point much faster than before - - provided he dismantles towers that jam his ability to call in his plane. (Unlike, say, Far Cry 3, these tower sequences will require a wide variety of skills and powers, including some that will have to be unlocked first.) It's a good thing Montreal is providing the Dark Knight with a quick method of transport - WB Montreal contends that Origins is nearly twice the size of Arkham City, adding an entirely new island, called 'New Gotham', to build upon the more familiar 'Old Gotham', which will still feature familiar locations like Amusement Mile and The Bowery.

The Montreal team intends to maintain the same world "density" despite doubling its size, adding ideas like 'Crime in Progress' (assist the GCPD and build your reputation) and 'Most Wanted' (track down non-assassin villains). In many cases these side quests will provide the upgrades to Batman's arsenal. These upgrades, combined with the game's existing XP system, funnel into the larger concept of the 'Dark Knight' system, which is basically the team's way of progressively adding more complexity and difficulty to Origins.
Origins will also put more emphasis on Batman's detective skills. Cases large and small will serve as a slower change of pace from action, allowing players to investigate crime scenes, gather evidence, analyze data and even return to those scenes with more information later in the game. Over time, as each case is solved, a full video narrative of the case will unlock, piecing together the crime.
Rich's most anticipated comic book storyline is 'Year Zero' in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's 'Batman' series. Will there be any similarities to Arkham Origins? He hopes so. Talk about comic books, comic book movies and comic book video games with Rich on Twitter @RichIGN.

The first screenshots from Batman: Arkham Origins hit the web this morning. In addition to showing Batman cleaning up Gotham, the shots (via Game Informer) reveal a few of the villains that the Dark Knight will encounter in this prequel.

Deathstroke, whose inclusion in the game was announced yesterday, is fighting Batman one-on-one in a shot. Several of the images star Black Mask, the crime lord with creepy distinctive headgear. The third and final villain on display here is Penguin, who's about to taser someone.

The earliest report about Arkham 3 suggested that the game would feature Batman and the Joker's first encounter. That seems like a safe bet; the Joker played such a pivotal role in the first two Arkham games that he almost needs to be in Origins. He doesn't necessarily have to be the main villain of the game, though. Origins might just show how the Joker became the Joker.

Origins will launch in October on the Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Wii U. It will be accompanied by a handheld game, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, in development at Armature Studio.